B'n'B gains mean short-term pain

Jimmy Thomson

What are the problems facing renting out strata apartments to short-term travellers?

A global social network-based room letting service is testing strata bans on short term-lets to breaking point.

The Airbnb website has already caught the attention of councils in Sydney concerned that private residences are being used as bed and breakfast accommodation, which may require change of use certification.

According to this story in the Sydney Morning Herald, councils have already threatened to fine owners who let rooms illegally.

But the story also mentions a complaint from neighbour in what is almost certainly a strata scheme ... and that’s where the real battlefield will be.

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The Airbnb concept is designed for people who want to travel cheaply and meet locals from the places they are travelling to. Like website TripAdvisor (and others) it allows tourists to rate and comment on the places they stay.

The twist on Airbnb is that it also lets the hosts rate the guests. Steal too many towels and toiletries and you might not get the stars you were hoping for.

But how does letting rooms in your flat for a couple of nights sit with bans on rentals of less than three months? And if the listings are entire apartments in residential strata buildings, you have really crossed the short-term letting line.

Add the council concerns in Sydney to the stoush in Melbourne over party flats in apartment blocks, and you can see trouble brewing for Airbnb hosts in strata buildings.

Travellers who use Airbnb swear by it. They can identify like-minded people who will both rent them a room and introduce them to the delights of their home city.

Their hosts can similarly pre-select their guests by checking their previous ratings. It’s all so hip, now and Facebook friendly that it’s hard to see the flaws.

But check the website for listings in your area and you may be surprised to find how many units are available in buildings you thought were purely long-term residential.

What’s the difference? If you are letting a room in your home, you might think that’s mostly harmless since you are there to deal with any problems that might arise.

But if, under the guise of touchy feely social networking, you rent a vacant unit in a building that bans short-term lets, you are a strata parasite, plain and simple.

Too harsh? Ask the people who find their homes being turned into hotels and the hotel workers who can’t find jobs because opportunists think strata schemes aren’t real homes and are therefore ripe for exploitation.

What do you think of Airbnb in strata buildings? Log on to the Flat Chat Forum and let us know.

2 comments

There are misleading statements in this article. Airbnb is not a BNB service, it's a letting medium. You are a guest in someone's home, and you get a bed, sheets, and a towel, the host may provide more if they want to. As for the flip comment about stealing, if a guest did this, Airbnb would probably remove their account. As you must supply identification to get an account, it would be hard to set up another account.

I have had nothing but good experiences with Airbnb, both as a guest and a host. Every Airbnb guest I've hosted (around 15) has been better than some flatmates I've endured. A friend who has hosted over 200 people had one mildly bad experience. If you receive a bad guest review, you may find yourself blackballed. Some hosts won't take guests without reviews at all. Reviews from hosts or guests can only be left when money has been paid via Airbnb, so there are no 'dummy' reviews from mates.

People who use Airbnb tend to be quiet but sociable. They don't stay at much cheaper hostels because they are noisy and party oriented, or cheap hotels because they want a more personal experience. Unless you're a nosy neighbour you're unlikely to even know your neighbour is letting on Airbnb. In the SMH story, the woman had been letting the place for two years before the single complaint was made, probably as a result of the neighbour questioning a guest rather than bad behaviour on the guest's part.

As for standards, I've stayed in hotels in Australia that had lower standards than EVERY Airbnb place I stayed in.

Frankly, Airbnb is better at weeding out the bad and the ugly than most real estate agents putting in long term tenants.

Commenter

Airbnb fan

Location

Date and time

September 24, 2013, 7:29PM

I love Airbnb, much better experience than hotels and better value.... all the people I have rented my unit to have been friendly, considerate and courteous, (more so than many of my neighbours!).

Most hotels in Australia are grossly overpriced for the level of service and quality they offer... Just like retail sector, they are being forced to face their shortcomings by a new business model delivering what people actually want....

I hope the innate nanny nature of Australian bureaucracy leaves this one alone...